Teach Me How To Fly
by The Strength In Darkness
Summary: ...I shook my head, trying to rid those thoughts. She still loved Tidus, she would never love some stupid fan boy like me. After all, that’s practically what I was, a fan boy...
1. Chapter 1

_This is just something a friend and I did for fun, so it's not edited or anything. _

_**Final Fantasy and all it's characters belong to Square Enix. However, Seig belongs to me.

* * *

** _I was born into this world eighteen years ago, my parents said I was kicking and screaming like any other baby right after they're born.

I spent my childhood living within the walls of Home, which was hidden in the middle of the Bikanel Desert. We needed to make sure that it stayed hidden, because if we were found, all would be lost.

The people of Spira say that we continue to bring Sin by using machina. I don't believe that. Machina is just parts, assembled to make a device to make our lives more comfortable and convenient.

Every year I continued to live, I grew bigger and stronger, and my knowledge increased. By the age of nine, I could create my own machina from scratch. My parents said this was advanced for my age, but I don't believe them. After all, my older brother, Kael, could do this by the time he was six.

Kael is exceptional in every way, and I'm not the only one who thinks so. Everyone who met him complimented him on his skills or how big and strong he was. Don't get me wrong, I was proud of him, but I was sick and tired of being eclipsed by his shadow.

So, I decided I would become better, surpass Kael. I built a giant machina, a prototype that I thought would soon be able to defeat Sin. Sure, I got a lot of attention for it, but everyone thought I was crazy. They knew it wouldn't hold up against Sin, and they were right…

I tried facing Sin when I was just fourteen, what a mistake. The machina seemed to be working properly, until Sin got angry. He attacked the machina, causing the power core to malfunction. I should've gotten out then, if I would've just gotten out I could've saved my brother's life..

I just remember everything going black all of a sudden, and then waking up in my bed at home. I knew something was wrong, the atmosphere was different, and I was aching all over. I looked to my parents, who both looked absolutely furious.

They told me what had happened, the power core had exploded, and Kael pulled me out before it killed me. He didn't have time to save himself, however.

That machina ended his life as easily as a Yevon bullet, and it was then when I realized why Spira was so angry at the Al Bhed. Even though we thought we built them perfectly, Machina were still unreliable, and one malfunction could mean your death.

The people of Home weren't angry at me, just my parents. So I left them, and I got a place of my own. I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself at fourteen, since I had to do it most the time anyway. I continued living normally until my 16th birthday, which was a horrible day for all Al Bhed.

Home had always been rather easy to hide, considering it was in the middle of a scorching hot desert. But somehow, the Guado had found where they were and attacked. On that day, everything changed…


	2. Chapter 2

Before we knew what was happening, the fiends were upon us, killing everyone and everything they could get a hold of. At that time, I believed it a blessing that Kael was dead, so he didn't have to go through this.

I managed to find a hiding spot and stay there throughout the attack. Few people lived, I being one of them. I found out soon later that both my parents were dead…

I couldn't stay at Home anymore, I had to leave. Anywhere would be better than here, where the memories would haunt me forever.

I decided to go to Besaid on my airship, hoping that the people would accept me and treat me like one of their own. I was wrong.

The people of Besaid hated me, and I knew that it would be like that all around, so I decided just to stay here and not brave any more pain.

Most the time, I just walked with my head down to hide my emerald eyes, but the blonde hair and the goggles still gave it away.

I remember wondering why the people of Besaid were so bitter, why all the people were so bitter. We hadn't done anything wrong, after all. At least, I didn't think we did.

After being in Besaid for about a week, the people decided to strike a blow against me. They destroyed my airship, the ship my brother and I had built together.

I woke up the next morning and saw my ship in flames. I flew into a rage and attacked one of the villagers who had bright orange hair. Unluckily for me, he could fight back. Guy nearly broke my jaw, but I suppose I deserved it.

I was only angry because my ship was the final item I had to remember Kael with. Now, my family was torn from me for good, and I was all alone…

The world begun to seem frightening to me, I would rarely ever come out of my tent, for fear of being hurt more than I already was. If I had seen myself then, I would've said that I looked like a scared puppy dog.

I stayed this way for a while, until one of the villagers gathered the courage to come speak with me. I remember her name, but I suppose it's hard to forget it now. It was Yuna, a rather beautiful name. She commented on mine too, said that it was unique, but I think she meant it as a compliment.

Yuna was by far the nicest person I had met outside of Home. She would listen to whatever I had to say, and at least pretend to be interested, even if she wasn't. I would listen to her in return, and soon we became friends.

But I knew that our friendship wouldn't last. Yuna was a summoner, trying to follow in her father's footsteps and to surpass him, the same thing I tried to do with Kael. I warned her, but she told me that she had to do this. Spira needed her now, she had to leave.

I felt like screaming, yelling for her to stay, but I knew that would be selfish of me. Instead, I just let her go. How foolish could I have been? I let the only person in the new world that I cared about leave on a suicide mission.

So, Yuna left with her five guardians, and I was alone again. I didn't realize what I felt for the young summoner until it was too late to tell her. I could tell that the new blonde-haired boy had been flirting with her, and that they would grow close during the time Yuna was on her mission.

I wanted to be the one Yuna confined in, told all her problems. I wanted to be the one she came to when she was scared. I wanted to be the one there to protect her. I wanted to be the one she loved…


	3. Chapter 3

But, because of Tidus, I feared this would never come true. Still, I didn't do anything. I stayed in Besaid and waited, waited for her to return home. Somehow, I knew she would come back, but I didn't know if she'd care about me anymore.

Soon, she returned to Besaid, but with only five guardians. I soon learned that Tidus had disappeared, and that Yuna was so quiet because she was heartbroken. She never even said hello when she returned.

That hurt me more than anything, that Yuna didn't acknowledge my presence. I was angry at Tidus for doing this to her. If he had still been alive, I would've killed him with my own two hands.

I couldn't take it anymore, I had to leave Besaid, leave behind the memories. I boarded the earliest ship I could and left for Luca, hopefully there was something I could do there. Now that the Al Bhed weren't so hated, I knew that there might be work for me.

I spent the next two years working peacefully at the blitzball stadium in Luca, masking my pain with a cheerful exterior. I had plenty of friends, and even a girlfriend ever now and then, but I always felt so _alone_…

My name is Seig Xavier, and this is where my story begins.


	4. Chapter 4

I slowly walked to work, enjoying the warm summer breeze that whipped my blonde hair around my face. The streets weren't crowded yet, and it was actually quite peaceful. It reminded me of Besaid, which I was still trying to forget.

I knew Yuna was doing alright, or so it seemed. She had monthly concerts at the blitz ball stadium, which I never attended. I was temped to go, but I knew it would just bring back all the pain.

/I wish I could just talk to her..at least once../

I looked down to my feet, like they were going to give me answers to my problems. I knew that if I ever talked to her again, I would probably kiss her, which wouldn't go over too well.

/If only she knew how much I love her, maybe she's come talk to me again..maybe we could be something../

I shook my head, trying to rid those thoughts. She still loved Tidus, she would never love some stupid fan boy like me. After all, that's practically what I was, a fan boy.

I took out my red key card and slid it into the slot to unlock the door. I knew I wasn't the first one here, but the door always seemed to be locked in the morning. Probably so I couldn't sneak up on anybody and scare them.

As I walked towards the ticket booth, I messed with my uniform a bit. It was a plain button up white shirt, blue bow tie, and black slacks. The manager went crazy if we looked bad, and I didn't really feel like getting yelled at today.

I stepped into the booth, looking as tired and depressed as before. The girl who worked the booth with me, Arcia, gave me a worried look.

"Seig, are you alright?" She asked, as I sat down.

"I'm fine." I replied, "Just a bit tired."

I knew Arcia had a major crush on me, but I ignored her. I had too much on my mind already, and a girlfriend would totally push me over the edge. They always seemed so needy.

Somehow, I knew that Yuna wouldn't be like this, if I could get her to even consider dating me. She wasn't selfish, like all the other girls that liked me. Most only dated me for my looks, not my personality, which really made me angry. That's why I dumped them, not like they were helping me at all anyway.

Soon, the stadium was open, and people began flocking in. There wasn't a game scheduled for today, so I wondered why so many people were showing up. Suddenly, the manager opened the door to the booth.

"Change of plans, Yuna's having a concert today!" He said, "Hurry and get ready, it's going to be a madhouse!"

I groaned out loud as the manager left, and Arcia raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" She asked, sounding as if she actually cared. Maybe she did, what do I know?

"It's nothing." I replied, "I just don't like crowds."

"Then you picked a bad place to work." Arcia said, clearly not believing me.

"I only worked here because I couldn't work anywhere else." I said.

"Bull shit." Arcia said, "You're young, strong, and good looking. You could get any job you wanted."

I had nothing to say to that, since I didn't want to make a bigger fool of myself. The day already seemed horrible, but it was only going to get worse.


	5. Chapter 5

The morning was rather boring, all Arcia and I did was sell tickets to the concert. Before, I had taken the days off when Yuna had concerts, but I knew I couldn't get out of it this time. Once we sold out of tickets, we had to go into the stadium and watch the crowds, make sure they didn't do anything drastic. This also meant I had to see Yuna, which would be devastating.

Right now, I was just praying that I wouldn't break down in the middle of the concert and start crying, or pass out. Not that I was showing how worried I was. I was good at things like that, being able to hide what I was feeling. Most the time, anyway.

I put on my guard uniform, which I kept in my tiny locker in the employee room, and grabbed my baton, before hurrying out towards where the others were. The manager gave us a short briefing, before ushering us into the stadium, where the crowd was roaring.

The lights were just beginning to flicker to life, and the two guitarists were already flying around on their machina, tuning their guitars for the song. I let out a small sigh, before heading for my post on the other side of the stadium, avoiding gazing upon the stage. I didn't even know if Yuna was there yet, but I didn't really want to look and find out.

As the crowd chanted their countdown, I shot a glance towards the stage, and immediately became entranced by Yuna. She was just as beautiful as I remembered her, and even more so when she changed into her songstress dress sphere.

As Yuna began singing, I continued to stare at her, nearly drooling, until something caught my eye. Across the stadium from me, Arcia was pulling something out of her jacket. It only took me a moment to realize that it was a gun.

She aimed it at Yuna, and I quickly got a hold of myself. I took a running leap, and landed on the glowing platform that Yuna was on. I could hear gasps and shouts from the crowd, but I didn't care. All that was going through my mind was that I needed to protect Yuna.

I quickly ran and tackled Yuna, and a second later a gunshot sounded. I didn't realize I had been hit until I looked down at Yuna, who I was on top of. She was covered in crimson, and staring at me with wide eyes. I didn't even have the strength to push myself off of her, before everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6

When I woke, I was laying in a bed that was not my own, buried underneath a thick comforter. I didn't open my eyes, but I could feel a throbbing pain in my shoulder.

/So, it wasn't a dream…/

I had saved Yuna, and gotten shot in the process. I didn't dare open my eyes, for fear of what I would see.

I couldn't understand why I didn't want to look at her. Maybe it was because I felt that I wasn't good enough for Yuna, that she could do so much better than me, and I didn't want her to see my eyes.

I knew she was there, sitting next to me. I didn't know what she was feeling, but I knew what I had to say.

"Yuna.." I whispered, my voice hoarse and weak, "..I love you.."

Those were the three simple words that had been tormenting me over the past two years. The unspoken 'I love you's' had felt like a ton of lead on my chest, and it had finally been lifted.

Yuna didn't speak for a moment, and I could feel my heart clench.

/She doesn't love me..I knew it../ I thought, keeping my eyes shut tight.

"I-uh-" Yuna stammered, before falling silent again.

"Are you awake?" She finally asked, trying to stay on a safe road.

"Yes.." I whispered, "I'm perfectly awake.."

I softly opened my eyes and looked to Yuna. She was shocked, it was written all over her face. I knew it. She didn't care about me, she didn't care about anyone but Tidus!

I wanted to kill him, for stealing the only thing I had left. It wasn't fair, none of it was fair. Why did he get all the breaks!

"Thank you…" Yuna whispered, "For saving me…I owe you my life."

I smiled softly at her, before chuckling. It hurt, so I quickly stopped.

"Isn't that what friends are for?" I asked quietly, "Besides, that's my job…"

She smiled at me and nodded.

I was trying to avoid thinking about my anger and envy, and trying to forget my love for Yuna. It was the only way I could lighten the mood a bit, and keep myself from passing out from emotional stress.

"So..how've you been?" I asked quietly. Yeah, stupid question, but it changed the subject. Plus, I was curious.

I wanted to know whether or not it was worth it to leave when she didn't talk, or if I was just being an idiot. It's most likely that I was just an idiot, and I put myself through all that torture.

"Alright…" Yuna said quietly "You shouldn't have left Besaid though." She was speaking slowly, like she was trying to figure what she should say.

"I really missed talking with you, and I'm sorry for not talking to you right when I got there…"

"I was being stupid.." I said, "It was stupid of me to leave just because you didn't talk to me..I understand that now.." I fell silent for a moment, before adding,

"I should be the one who's saying sorry."

I really had been an idiot, avoiding Yuna for all this time, just because I thought it would hurt to see her. I was selfish, and because of my mistakes I had hurt her. I always seemed to hurt people…

She shook her head again, smiling slightly.

"How about were both sorry and just go on with it then?" She asked.

"Alright, deal." I said, before trying to pull myself up into a sitting position so it was easier to talk with her.

Yuna pulled up a chair and sat, seeming like she was a bit hesitant to do so.

"How is your arm?" She asked.

I shrugged slightly, and then winced.

"It hurts, but I'll be okay." I said. Suddenly, I thought about what had happened in the stadium, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I bet it showed too.

"Arcia..."


	7. Chapter 7

Arcia had tried to kill Yuna!

I cant believe it took me that long to realize that it had been Arcia with the gun, my mind had gone into overdrive by then. What was she thinking?

Yuna blinked a couple times.

"Are you alright?" She asked, leaning in closer to catch my gaze again.

"You look like someone hit you with something."

I didn't say anything for a moment, before shaking my head.

"Sorry..I just didn't think she was so stupid.." I said, "Arcia's the girl who tried to shoot you.."

Alright, now I was angry at two people, Tidus and Arcia. I was only angry at them both because they had either hurt Yuna or tried to hurt her. Man, was I protective…

"Is she a friend?' Yuna asked.

I shook my head.

"Not really." I said, "I just work with her, but she has a major crush on me.."

I wondered how Yuna would react to the statement. Whether she would be mad at Arcia for liking me, or if she would just blow it off like a friend would.

If I were her, I wouldn't let that go…

I saw her tense slightly, and I raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Why do you think she was shooting at me?" She asked.

"Well, either she was jealous, or she really doesn't like you.." I said, "Honestly, I think she's jealous…"

Well, Arcia being jealous was the most logical answer. She managed to piece everything together, which seemed rather smart for her. She never seemed like she was all too bright, probably just wanted to mooch of me, like all the others.

"Yeah that's what I was thinking." She said, before looking down to her feet again

I stared at Yuna curiously, she seemed to be concentrating very hard on something. Kinda the same thing I do, where I just fall into thought.

"You alright?" I asked, softly reaching out and using a finger to lift her chin so she would look at me again.

I'll admit it, I partly just wanted to touch her and have her look at me again, but I was also wondering what she was thinking so hard about.

"Yeah." She said, sounding slightly breathless, "Just thinking, you know?"

She then gave me a small wobbly smile, and I smiled back.

Yuna was once again staring at my eyes, like she had been doing off and on since I had opened them.

Did she love my eyes the same way I loved her's? I knew mine weren't that beautiful, but if she liked them, I wouldn't change them for the world.

I let my hand linger under her chin for a moment, before slowly pulling it back. Already, my hand felt cold, and I was missing the soft feeling of her skin.

Is this what it felt like to truly love someone? All I had ever felt was longing, but now that Yuna was here with me, I felt so much better.

"I really like your eyes…" She said, after what seemed like an eternity of silence.

I smiled when she blushed, she looked wonderful no matter what she did.

"I like yours too.." I replied truthfully, "They're the most beautiful things I've seen in a long time.."

Now it was my turn to blush. Well, that was enough of speaking from my heart. It was awfully embarrassing, but it did feel good..

"Thank you." She said very self consciously, a hand now pressed to one of her flaming cheeks.

I could tell she was trying to look away, but couldn't. I couldn't either, to tell you the truth.

I merely smiled when she chuckled, she had to be feeling the same way I did, since I also felt like laughing.

Even though I had promised myself not to listen to my heart for a little while, I couldn't help myself. I was sitting, so I was about her height.

Slowly, I leaned in, shutting my eyes and preparing to kiss her. I also gave her plenty of time to back away, just in case she didn't want this. I wouldn't make her do anything she didn't want to, never in my life would I even think about doing something like that to Yuna..


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey you guys!"

I quickly pushed myself back from Yuna and got a wave of pain the made me cringe. When I looked, I saw Rikku and Paine standing in the doorway.

I gave them both a nervous smile, well aware that my cheeks were the deepest shade of red.

"So how are you two?" Rikku asked, walking slowly into the room "Was there-"

"We're fine, everything's fine!" Yuna said, he voice a bit squeaky.

Rikku giggled a bit.

"Alright well let me tell you then!" she exclaimed.

I let out a small sigh, and slowly my cheeks began to return to their normal color. These two girls, whoever they were, seemed to have the worst timing..

"Yunie? YUNIE!" Rikku exclaimed, "Have you been listening to me at all?"

"Huh?" Yuna exclaimed, sounding as if she had just been spacing off, and not listening at all.

"We need to leave, we've been called away from Luca." Rikku said, "Someone found a sphere!"

Yuna looked back at me, then at Rikku and Paine.

"What about Seig?" she asked.

"He can stay with us." Paine said, leaning in the doorway, "If he wants to."

Yuna looked over at me.

"well?" she asked, and I gave a nod.

"Of course." I said, "I probably don't have a job anymore anyway."

Well, that was just an excuse, because I couldn't really say that I wanted to stay with Yuna, since that would just be embarrassing.

It was still amazing that I was able to tell her all those things before, but I suppose that's part of loving someone…


	9. Chapter 9

Yuna smiled at me and nodded.

"well welcome to the team I guess…" she said, shrugging slightly.

"Yeah, you can hunt spheres with us!" Rikku exclaimed jumping up then doing a little dance, "Have you ever hunted spheres?"

Yuna smiled, probably because the other girl was so ecstatic. Hell, even I smiled.

"Nope, never in my life." I said, looking Rikku over a moment, "Hey, aren't you Cid's girl?"

I cant believe it too me so long! Cid's children were supposed to be super smart, and I remember Kael saying he wanted to beat them one day.

Rikku's smile fell away and her enthusiasm died, she managed a small smile and placed her hands on her hips. I was starting to believe I said something wrong.

"Yeah, took you a while." She said.

"I haven't seen him in awhile." Rikku said shrugging, "Not sure where he is, can't say I care though."

"Did he do something wrong?" I asked, an eyebrow raised. Cid had always seemed like an okay guy to me, but then again, I didn't have to live with him. For all I know, he could've done something horrible, like blow up home…

Rikku shook her head and gave me a fake smile.

"Oh no nothing drastic really, just family problems you know?" she said in her perky tone.

"You guys ready?" Paine asked, clearly changing the subject, "Is there anything you need from Luca, Seig? Before we leave?" I gave a nod.

"Yeah, I gotta pick up some things from my house." I said, "Like normal, unbloody clothes. And I gotta quit my job, if I'm not already fired."

Paine nodded. "Well if your well enough, we could help you to your house then to where you work."

Rikku nodded furiously. "Yeah! Yunie could probably help you with that!"

Yuna blushed, and I chuckled under my breath.

"I'll help if I can." Yuna said.

"I'll be alright, I think." I said, sitting up and slowly getting out of bed, not using my injured arm at all.

"I survived Home, I think I can survive a little bullet wound."

"Yeah I bet." Rikku said, chuckling nervously.

"Off with you." Paine said straightening and moving from the doorway, "We wont leave you behind but we wont wait forever."

"It's my arm that's hurt, not my legs." I said, "I can move just fine." I headed for the doorway, already moving at normal pace. By now, I was just hoping that we wouldn't run into Arcia..

I could feel their eyes on me, but I just ignored it as I left the room.

When I didn't hear them following me, I stopped and waited.

/They're probably grilling Yuna/ I thought, smiling slightly/Same thing Kael would've done to me../

I waited until I heard the door open, and then I began walking again. Stepping out into the sun wasn't as bad this time as it was in the morning. Maybe it was because I wasn't depressed anymore.

I headed towards my house, since it was closer than the stadium, but it was still rather hard to get to because of all the people.

While we were walking, a tall boy ran into my wounded shoulder and I quickly moved to clutch it in pain.

"Sorry kiddo, didn't mean to hit ya there." The boy said, giving me a grin that I knew all too well.

I just stood, dumbstruck, my mouth unable to form any words. The kid raised an eyebrow, I knew that too.

"Seig, are you alright?" Yuna asked me, but I could barely hear her.

Finally, one word managed to form.

"Kael.."


	10. Chapter 10

"Ding ding, correct." The boy said, and I didn't say a word.

"Now, now, don't look so surprised." Kael said, "After all, the dead aren't truly gone. Well, if they have a mission to complete they aren't."

"A-and what is y-your mission?" I managed to choke out, and Kael chuckled.

"The sky is blue, and the sea is green brother." He said.

Kael pulled a small remote on a key chain out of his pocket, which he spun around his finger a couple times, before closing it within his fist.

"You're crazy..crazy!" I said.

"Not crazy, just determined." Kael said, "This must be done, it's the only way to fix things."

"what the heck are you two talking about?" Rikku asked, "Seig, who is this guy? 'Cause if he's not that important we really need to go."

"He's really important, so can you just lay off!" I snarled, and Kael gave me a look.

"Are you that mean to all your friends?" He asked, "Cause I wouldn't stick around you if you are.."

"Just shut the hell up and tell me when!" I said angrily, and Kael rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He said, "Be ready in three days, or Pacyet is as good as gone." With that, he gave a wave and then walked away.

I turned and headed towards my house as quickly as I could. This was bad, very bad..

I unlocked the front door to my apartment upon reaching it and ran into the kitchen, fumbling through the cabinets with shaky hands until I found what I was looking for.

It was a pill bottle, but it was empty.

"Dammit!" I yelled, throwing the empty bottle at the wall and then gripping the edge of the counter tightly, trying to calm myself down a bit.

Yuna slowly walked over and laid a hand on my arm.

"Seig?" She asked quietly, "What's wrong?"

"Everything's wrong!" I said, angry mostly gone from my voice. I couldn't help it, I began to sob onto the counter.

"Why does everything have to be so messed up!" I asked, between sobs, "Cant I have one day to get away from all the pain!"

Yuna didn't say anything, she just pulled me against her, and I was grateful for it. I cried for a few more minutes, before pulling back and drying off my face with my sleeve a bit.

"I'm alright now.." I said quietly, "I just need to get a few things and then we can go.." I then hurried back into the bedroom, shutting the door behind me.

I grabbed some clothes from my closet and stuffed them into a backpack, along with a few pieces of machina I had stuffed under my bed. The whole time I was thinking, reassuring myself that I was going to be fine.

/I don't need those pills..the doctors only said I did../ I told myself. The back of my mind was almost laughing at me.

/right, that's why you tried to commit suicide a couple months ago../ Now, I just tried to block out my thoughts, cause they weren't helping at all.

Slowly, I walked out of my room, with my backpack slung over my shoulder.

"You ready?" Yuna asked softly, and I nodded.

"yeah, let's go.." I said, "But, I have a question. Can we stop at Bikanel on the way back from the mission?"

"Sure." Yuna said, nodding "I don't think it will be a problem, I think Rikku would agree with me too."

Yuna started out of the kitchen and to the door, and I followed after her, locking the front door behind us. I was still a bit on edge, so I was trying just to keep calm.

"So anything else you need to do?" Rikku asked, dancing a bit on her toes.

"Patience." Paine said to her.

Rikku stopped moving about and crossed her arms.

"yes mother." She mumbled.

"Are you alright?" Yuna asked, clearly worried about me.

"I'm alright." I said, giving Yuna a small smile, "Just thinking. And screw my work, let's go!"

"Alright lets go see what the sphere has in store for us!" Rikku exclaimed, running back to the airship. Paine shook her head and walked after her, and Yuna walked beside me, staying silent.

When we got onto the airship, Rikku was talking quickly to Brother in Al Bhed, he nodded and jumped into his seat.

"Alright strap down everyone!" Rikku exclaimed, and I sat down in a seat and quickly buckled myself in. I didn't know how good a flyer Brother was, and I wasn't going to take any chances.


	11. Chapter 11

We got to our destination quickly and found the Sphere, it didn't seem to be much help to them.

We then went to Bikanel, and everyone got off the airship.

"So waddya need from here?" Rikku asked me quizzically.

I shrugged. "Just something to help me win." I said, before heading towards the ruins of home.

He shrugged. "Just something to help me win." he said, before heading towards the ruins of home.

"Huh…" Rikku said, "Why are you going to the ruins?'

"What are we doing?" Paine asked.

"He wants to get something from the ruins that will 'help him win'." Rikku said shrugging.

"What do you mean, Seig?" Yuna asked.

"When Kael said 'The sky is blue and the sea is green,' he was talking about a piece of machina he had created blueprints for a long time ago." I explained, "He told me it could stop sin, because he thought the only thing that can beat sin is itself."

Paine shook her head. "Most people wouldn't believe you." She said.

"So he really built a machine that could defeat sin?" Rikku exclaimed.

"I don't know if it can actually defeat sin, but it can definitely destroy a city, and also send Spira into chaos." I said, "His machina is an exact replica of Sin, with the same attacks and everything."

As they walked into the ruins, I immediately began looking around for the hatch that led down to the underground hull. I was just hoping that the thing I was looking for was still there.

"So why are you looking for it?" Rikku snapped, "Your not planning on using it are you?'

"Rikku…" Yuna said, "Calm down."

"I'm not looking for it anyway." I said, "I'm looking for the only thing I know of that can stop it."

Finally, I found the trap door and pulled it open, before hurrying down the ladder and into the darkness of the hatch. I could faintly hear the others talking.

"Whose going first?' Rikku asked nervously, but before it was completely out of her mouth Paine was already going down.

"Rikku, your trembling." Yuna said.

"Y-yeah never liked the dark…uh how about you guys go without me…" Rikku said.

I dropped down to the floor and walked over to the wall, flipping a switch and turning on the lights. In front of them was a large piece of machina, about 2/3 the size of Sin, and it was in the shape of a saber toothed tiger. The entire thing was painted a deep red besides the claws and teeth, which were white.

We dropped down to the floor, it seemed Seig had hit a switch because everything was lit up In front of us was a large piece of machina, about 2/3 the size of Sin, and it was in the shape of a saber toothed tiger. The entire thing was painted a deep red besides the claws and teeth, which were white.

Yuna gasped slightly and Paine was just staring, Rikku's feet hit the floor and she screamed.

Paine and Yuna both whirled around, but Rikku was just staring at the machine.

"Rikku, its not real." Yuna said.

"I know!" Rikku exclaimed, "It just freaked me out!"

I chuckled. "It's just a protector we never got the chance to use." I said, "Too bad, it would've crushed Yevon."

I grinned lightly as I walked up to the machina and climbed up the side. I knew that I looked like I was proud of this, I couldn't help it. Something in me just loved this piece of machina.

I opened the top of the tiger's head, so I could climb into the pilot's seat and fire it up, to see if it still worked. Of course, it did. This was the prize possession of the Al Bheds, it always worked!


	12. Chapter 12

I let the machina run for a moment, as I checked all the status of all the parts of the beast. Then, I turned it off and happily climbed back down.

"Well, the future for Besaid seems bright." I said, still grinning. I didn't even realize that I had said Besaid.

"Besaid?" Yuna whispered, tensing.

"What do you mean Besaid?" She exclaimed, "What's happening to Besaid?"

Both Rikku and Paine looked at Yuna then back at me.

"Well..uh.." I said quietly, "Kael said that if I don't beat him and his machina, he'll destroy Besaid.."

My grin was gone, along with all the happiness I previously had. I hoped they wouldn't go crazy on me for not telling them right away..

"Idiot." I heard Paine mutter.

"What?" Rikku exclaimed, "Why Besaid? Why Yunie's home?"

I shrugged. "I dunno, maybe because I lived there for a while.." I said.

Yuna hurried over to me.

"you have to win!" she exclaimed loudly, "You can't let them destroy Besaid!"

"Yeah Wakka and Lulu have a family there!" Rikku said.

"I'm not going to let him win, that's why I have to use this machina, no matter how much you guys hate it." I said.

Yuna nodded furiously. "Yes use it if you have to! You just have to save Besaid…" her voice then trailed off.

Rikku looked uneasy but nodded, agreeing with Yuna.

I gave a small nod. "Alright, we need to come back here in three days then, since that's when Kael's gonna try to attack Besaid." I said, "But for now, lets go back to the airship."

"well where should we go?" Rikku asked, 'we haven't really gotten any calls yet…"

"Should we warn the people of Besaid?" I asked, "Or do you think they would panic too much..or think that I am really behind all this, cause they seemed to still hate me when I left.."

"With Yunie there, I think they would believe you." Rikku said.

Yuna nodded. "We do need to warn them." She said.

"Alright, let's go." I said, before heading up the ladder and back into the scorching sunlight of the desert.


	13. Chapter 13

Everyone was silent while we made out way back to the airship, the only time anyone talked was when Rikku asked brother to head for Besaid. Other than that everyone was buried in their own thoughts.

On the airship, I pulled a piece of Machina about the size of my hand out of my backpack. It had a round, clear piece that would slide back to expose a small chamber to insert a small power core, which I had also in my backpack. It was about two inches long and an inch thick, and it glowed green.

I had vowed never to use a power core again, but I would use one to save Besaid.

I inserted the core into the small machine and slid the glass piece shut. Now, that entire chamber glowed a vibrant green. Just what I wanted. I then slid the things back into my backpack, they wouldn't be needed for a few days.

Finally the airship landed and they piled off, I started towards the village in a brisk pace. When Yuna saw Wakka and Lulu, she began to run, her eyes teary.

Rikku and Paine watched Yuna run off, and Rikku shook her head.

"She really loves this place…" Rikku said.

"Especially the people in it." Paine said as she started after Yuna.

I followed after Paine, not wanting to run after Yuna, since I wasn't sure if Wakka liked me at all yet. After all, he was the one who nearly broke my jaw, but that was a long time ago…

I walked up behind Yuna, staring down at my feet. "She's telling the truth.." I said quietly, "You all need to get out, I don't want anyone to get hurt.."

It was the truth. Even though they had despised him, he still didn't want them to get hurt because of some stupid feud he and Kael were having.

Wakka stared at me a bit. "Hey, you're the kid who tried to beat me up a few years ago." He said, "Did you-"

"Wakka." Lulu said firmly, and he backed off, "Seig, tell me, how is this all happening?"

"My brother..he died a few years before I came here..but now he's back, talking about some stupid mission.." I said, "He said if I cant beat him in three days, he'll destroy Besaid with his machina.."

"Machina." Wakka growled, and Lulu gave him a look before looking back at me.

"Thank you." She said, "For warning us. It shows that you aren't a bad person." She gave Wakka another look and he mumbled under his breath angrily.

"Now you should get out of here, Wakka and I will warn the town and start packing." Lulu said.

I noticed that Yuna had wandered off, and I had an idea about where she had gone. I headed up into the village and towards the temple, silently.


	14. Chapter 14

-1I felt like dirt right about now. People could get hurt, even killed, and it was going to be my fault. I knew I couldn't beat Kael, he was better than me at everything, and that he would continue to attack Spira until he was satisfied.

I slowly walked into the temple and found Yuna, standing in front of Braska's statue. I was silent as I walked towards her, and I knew she was crying. Instead of speaking, I merely laid a hand on her shoulder.

Yuna suddenly turned and buried her face against me. I didn't mind, it felt nice, and I wanted to make her feel better. So, I wrapped my arms around her and held her close, providing all the comfort I could.

"I promise you that no one is going to die.." I whispered. I considered adding another part, but instead I just thought it.

/Even if it costs me my life, I promise you that I wont let anyone die…/

Yuna nodded against me and whispered, "Thank you Seig…for everything.."

I smiled softly. "You've done a lot more for me than I've done for you.." I replied, "Plus, I'd do anything for you.."

It was true too. I would give my life tenfold to keep her safe, and I had a feeling I might have to do it this time…

Yuna didn't answer me for a while, and I wondered what she was thinking about, but I said nothing.

"Thank you…" She whispered finally, still holding onto me. It was almost like she didn't want to let go of me, and I defiantly didn't want to let go of her. Now now, not ever.

Yuna was the first to pull away. She rubbed her eyes, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry." She said, "If I got your shirt wet."

"Don't worry about it, alright?" I said, "It'll dry."

We both then fell silent for a moment, which was now uncomfortable.

"May be we should help with packing…" Yuna suggested quietly, and I gave a nod.

"Yeah, let's go." I said, before motioning for the exit and then slowly walking out.


	15. Chapter 15

-1The next two days went by rather quickly, since I was working on the small piece of machina out of my bag and getting ready for the fight. Soon, we were heading for Bikanel, so I could pick up the large machina I was going to use to fight.

I was dreadfully nervous, but wasn't showing it at all as I paced. I had to at least look calm, so no one freaked out more than they already were. I couldn't lose now, not when so much was on the line.

When we reached the ruins of Home, I turned to Yuna. "I'm going to go down and get the machina, then head straight to Besaid. I suggest you guys don't come near there, I'm not sure what he'll resort to.." I said, before giving her a brief hug and stepping off the ship.

Quickly, I hurried down into the depths of the hatch and started up the great machine, opening the mechanical top of the hatch and then switching it to fly mode. I sped off towards Besaid, where I found Kael waiting.

He gave me a grin as I landed on the soft sand of Besaid. Opening the top of the machina, I jumped out to formally start the fight. I couldn't see the sin copy yet, but I knew it was there.

Before we shook hands, Kael spoke. "Just to let you know, I made sure that everyone in Spira is going to be watching this fight, so they can see me crush you."

Suddenly, on the ship, Shinra's controls shut down, and the screen flipped to that of a camera on Besaid. Everything could be seen clearly, like they were there.

"Still think you're going to win, huh?" I said, and he snorted.

"Brother, I always win." He said, before we both shook hands. He walked to the water's edge, and I hurried back into the cockpit of the tiger. I made it let out a loud roar, only for it to be met by an even louder yell, one I knew all too well.

/God, it even sounds like Sin../ I thought, as the machina whale broke the surface about 1000 feet out from the shore.

Sin sent three giant blue blasts towards me, which I just let connect. Otherwise, they would've destroyed the village. /Damn cheater../ I thought, before quickly moving to avoid some more attacks.

Right now, all I could do was dodge, and my luck wouldn't last very long. Sin was nearly in range, but not quite. I held onto the armrests tightly as I was slammed by another attack.

My machina sprinted out towards Sin, who was finally close enough for me to attack in the water. The claws of the tiger began to glow, and when I got close to Sin, the machina jumped into the air and slashed Sin, deep too.

If this had been the real sin, this blow would've been merely a flesh wound, but since it was machina, the blow knocked it out of commission, at least until Kael would fix it.


	16. Chapter 16

-1Unluckily, Sin managed to get a close range blow on me too, sending the machina flying back to the beach, totally fried. I climbed back from the cockpit, just to be met with a silver blade to the throat.

"You always wanted your name to be remembered," Kael said, "This is your chance, take it!"

I slowly stood, pushing away the blade lightly. "Fine." I said, "But you're going to regret telling me to do so."

I pulled the small piece of machina from my pocket and softly slipped off my shirt, before pressing the piece to my chest. It had tiny hooks that dug into my skin, holding it in. The pain only lasted a moment, though, because I could soon feel the power coursing through my veins.

"Now that's what I wanted to see brother." Kael said, "Go all out now, don't hold back just because we're related."

"Don't worry." I said, "I wont." A sword appeared in my hands, the hilt was gold and very intricate, along with the silver blade. I then slashed at Kael, who blocked with ease.

/He knows exactly how to block my dance of death technique../ I thought/I need to change my fighting style…/

Kael knocked my sword back hard enough for me to lose my footing, and then he gently pressed the tip of the blade to my throat again.

"Now now, you're not fighting like I asked you to." Kael said, before chuckling.

He was only playing with me. Even with the sin attack, he was just playing…

"Well, if you wont change, then I'll make you." Kael said, "Who is it you hate most…" He drew back his sword and stared at me with hard eyes, and it felt like he was digging into my mind, which he was.

Suddenly, he began to take the form of another boy, and it only took a moment for Seig to realize who it was.

Tidus…


	17. Chapter 17

-1"Hmm.." Kael said, looking down at himself, "I really expected more of you. I figured you'd hate someone important, like a Yevon official or something…"

"You don't understand Kael." I said, anger apparent in my voice. Even Tidus's image was enough to anger me.

Kael shrugged. "Maybe I don't, but it seems to make you angry, so it'll do fine.." He said.

I gripped the hilt of my sword tightly, so tight that my knuckled were white and sweat slid down onto the blade. I didn't want to attack, but the rage was beginning to take control of my body, and I slashed at Kael, hard.

Kael knew how to play me. He wanted a good fight, so he knew to get me angry, and now I was doing exactly what he wanted.

We fought like this for a bit, till I managed to do something Kael didn't expect.

I hit him.

The large gash on his arm began bleeding and he fell back, changing to his normal form too.

"Damn you!" He hissed, and I smirked.

"What? Have you never been hit before?" I asked.

Kael glared at me, before snapping his fingers. Both our mother and father appeared next to him, and it was easy to tell who they were. Kael and I are both spitting images of our father, except I have one thing different. My eyes were the same as my mother's.

My father pulled a sword, and my mother a spear. Both attacked me at once, but it did no good. I threw my mom against the cliff face and grabbed the spear the she had dropped, throwing it at her. It went through her stomach and into the cliff, anchoring her there.

I then turned quickly, as my father raised his sword, and slashed across his chest. It took a moment, but a gash appeared and the top half of his body slid a bit from the bottom, before he crumpled.

Kael's eyes were widened in shock as I turned to him and slightly moved my blood, to get the blood off it.

"You were a fool to mess with me like that." I said.

My brother managed to get a hold of himself and glare at me. "You know nothing of love." He growled quietly.

"Oh, I don't?" I asked, "I know what 'I love you' means."

"Yeah, and what would that me?" Kael asked.

"It's doing the right thing, no matter what the consequence." I replied, and Kael snorted slightly.

"Like you understand that." he said.

"I do. Need an example?" I asked.

"I don't need one, just tell me so I can see if you understand your own words." Kael said.

"I love Yuna, and I promised her I'd protect her home." I said, "And I'm going to keep that promise, because it's the right thing to do, even if it costs me my life."

"And it will brother!" Kael hissed, "But not today it wont..I'm too tired to keep this going." I snorted, but said nothing.

"Until next time." Kael said, before disappearing, along with his machina. I let out a breath, and then fell to my knees.

I hadn't shown it a second ago, but I was totally drained, both emotionally and physically.

Shinra's controls came back online, and Seig's image disappeared.

I slowly turned till I was on my back, staring at the blue sky with a small smile.

/I won../ I thought/just like I promised…/


	18. Chapter 18

-1I heard the roar of the Celsius's engine, and I sat up, spotting Yuna as she left the ship. I stood and ran to her, despite my exhaustion. My mouth was formed into a large grin.

"I won." I said, stating the totally obvious.

Yuna threw her arms around me, and I hugged her back, lifting her slightly off the ground.

"What? You thought I wouldn't be? I'm hurt.." I said playfully. I hadn't been this happy in years, and it felt really odd..but in a nice way.

"No, but really." I said, still holding onto him tightly, "Are you hurt? Badly? Anywhere?"

I shook my head. "Nah, I'm just tired, that's all." I said, "No need to be so worried..but I guess I understand.."

Yuna pulled away and asked, "Why did he change into Tidus?"

My grin fell away and I pulled my arms back. "Well..uh.." I said quietly, not looking at Yuna, "It's..kinda hard to explain.."

Yuna didn't say anything, which was telling me I had to continue.

"Even before you left for your journey, I felt the same way I do now..but I didn't know it yet.." I said, "I've always hated Tidus since he first came here..and I know that you loved him and all..but that doesn't change anything.."

I avoided saying why I hated him, hoping she wouldn't notice or would just take a guess and not say anything.

Yuna shook her head. "You mean your were jealous?" She asked, "Because your not really answering my question."

I sighed slightly, before giving a slight nod. "Yeah, I was jealous.." I said quietly.

Yuna hugged me again, and softly pressed her cheek against mine. "I'm sorry." She whispered, "I didn't know…"

I wrapped my arms around Yuna and held her softly. "It's alright.." I replied, relief slightly apparent in my voice.

Yuna pulled away when she heard Rikku and Paine walking towards us.

"well, you two looked comfy." Paine said, smirking slightly.

Yuna blushed and said, "Oh shut up."

"Well, what do you say we go somewhere where I can sleep?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Come on." Yuna said, taking my hand and leading me inside.

She took me into the Cabin area, and hugged me yet again. "I'm glad your okay…" she repeated, before walking out.

I laid down on one of the beds, and was soon fast asleep.

Shortly after Yuna and Wakka finished speaking, a young man, who was about 21, walked into the village. He had a white scarf with black designs on the sides thrown around his neck, so both the long pieces were hanging down his back. His hair was a dirty blonde color, and it was tied back in a large braid that ended at his lower back. Over his eyes were white goggles with black lenses, so you couldn't see his eyes. Also, he was carrying a weapon wrapped in white cloth, but it was easy to tell what it was from it's shape. A Scythe.

Following behind him were two younger kids, around 14 or 15, who were merely dressed in black pants and boots. The older man had a calm expression, so calm it was odd. On the other hand, the boys looked insanely excited, like they were going to do something great.

The man walked to the first people he saw, Wakka and Lulu. "I was wondering, do you know a boy named Seig?" He asked, his voice calm and emotionless. He could sense the hate coming from Wakka, but said and showed nothing.

Wakka eyed him suspiciously. "Yeah, why?" He asked.

"I need to speak with him, that's all." The man said, "and if it'll help you trust me, my name's Casimir Highwind."


	19. Chapter 19

-1

"Highwind?" Wakka asked, blinking a bit.

"Do you have any relations to a Rikku?" Lulu asked.

Casimir shrugged. "I might, but I don't really have time to check up on all my descendants…" He said. It was funny that he said descendants instead of relatives, but whatever.

Wakka raised an eyebrow at him, but Lulu just pointed at the airship on the beach. "He's most likely in there." she said.

Casimir nodded. "Alright, thank you." He said, before turning to the boys. "Go off and play, I'll be back soon." He said, and the two nodded furiously before running off.

He stepped slowly onto the airship and looked around for someone he could talk to, to find out where Seig would be. He spotted Rikku and Paine and walked up to them.

"I'm looking for Seig, do you two know where he is?" Casimir asked.

Paine raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you always walk onto other peoples airships?" she asked.

"He's in the cabin area." Rikku said quietly, pointing down the hall.

Casimir bowed his head slightly and said, "yes, and thank you." He then headed down the hall and to the cabin, where he found me snoring softly under the covers.

Casimir bowed his head slightly and said, "yes, and thank you." He then headed down the hall.

He smiled slightly at my sleeping figure, before slipping off his goggles and placing them on the pillow next to me.

"Sleep well, my friend.." he whispered with a small smile, before turning and slowly heading back for the bridge, his scythe resting against his shoulder.

Yuna eyed Casimir suspiciously as he walked into the bridge. "Who are you?" She asked.

"Casimir Highwind, old friend of Seig's." He replied, "I came here to talk with him, but I can wait until he wakes up."

Yuna gave a slight nod. "Alright." She said.

"Are you from around here?" Paine asked.

Casimir shook his head. "No, not really." He said.

For a while, no one spoke, so he decided to break the silence. "Well, I'm going to go find the boys, I'll be back in a few hours." He said, before heading for the exit.

About three hours later, I woke with a yawn, and blinked a few times in confusion when he saw the goggles. It took a moment, but he grinned and slipped them over his head, so they were hanging around his neck. He then headed out for the bridge.

"Finally." Paine said, "Some guy showed up looking for you awhile ago."

Yuna walked over to me, nodding. "We weren't to sure about letting him on at first…" She said.

"He's alright." I said, "Not much harm, to you guys at least. God help his enemies.." I then shrugged. "Comes with lots of training, I suppose.."

Yuna sighed, and seemed relived. "Okay, good." she said.

"Know where he went?" I asked, "It's kinda odd for him to want to come and talk to me, since he has his sons with him now, so it must be important.."

Yuna shrugged. "He said he'd come back after he found the boys."

As if on cue, Casimir walked onto the ship, with the two identical boys following after him. I walked up to him with a grin, and we gave each other a brief hug.

"Good to see you again man." I said, and he nodded.

"Yes, it is." He replied.

"Are you guys gonna be done soon? We wanna go play hide and seek again, but we need more people!" One of the boys said.

"It'll only a few minutes Maximus." Casimir said, and the boys nodded furiously. It was funny how, even though they were 15, they still acted like little kids.

"Can I talk to you for a moment, in private?" Casimir asked, and I nodded before following him back towards the cabin, leaving the boys on the bridge.

"So, are you like the high summoner?" The other boy, Nathaniel, asked.

Yuna smiled and nodded at him. "Yes, I'm Yuna." She said, offering him her hand, "Who are you?'

"I'm Nathaniel, and this is my brother Maximus." Nate said, taking Yuna's hand and shaking it.

"Yeah, we're identical twins. Pretty cool huh?" Max said, grinning along with his brother.

Yuna shook his hand, grinning. "Its very cool." She said, "I don't have siblings, let alone a twin."

Nate raised an eyebrow. "don't you ever get lonely all by yourself?" He asked.

"Yeah, I dunno what I'd do without Nate..it'd be really boring.." Max said.

Yuna chuckled. "No, you see that girl over there?" she said, pointing at Rikku, "She was like my sister, so I wasn't really alone."

The boys both nodded. "Oh, I guess I kinda forgot about friends.." Nate said, "We haven't seen ours for a while.."

"well, she's really my cousin." Yuna explained, "Where are you friends?"

They both shrugged. "We don't know anymore." Max said, "We haven't seen them for three years, we've been training under Casimir-sensei.."

"Oh wow three years?" Yuna exclaimed, "That is a long time! What are you guys training for?"

"We're gonna become peacemakers." Max said, and Nate nodded furiously. "Yeah! All we have to do is learn the secret of Tyhla Uv Taydr, and then we get the cloth!" Nate said.

"Peacemakers huh?" Yuna said, "Never heard of that before."

"It's a bit underground." Nate said, "Not very many people know of them, not yet anyway…"

"Are you guys planning a rebellion or something?" Yuna asked, and they both shook their heads furiously.

"No! Nothing like that.." Max said, "it's just that Abdiel, Casimir-sensei's teacher, and his newer students are all Kael's allies now, and are going to fight us.."

Yuna gasped. "Kael?" She was quiet a bit before shaking her head. "this is bad…"

"Worse than you think." Max said. "We cant kill them, no matter how hard we try." Nate said.

"what do you mean you can't kill them?" she asked, "Are they all already dead like Kael?"

Max shook his head. "No, they're immortal." He said. "All of them are." Nate said, "And soon, we will be to."

"Immortal…" Yuna whispered, this was bad…

"You guys can become immortal?" "If you learn the secret, you have the choice of taking the gift of graduation, which is immortality." Nate explained, "So far, all the people who have graduated have taken it.."

Yuna nodded slowly. "Yeah, even Casimir-sensei took it." Max said, "He said he was alive way before Zanarkand was even built!"

They both shrugged. "I dunno, I don't think he ever lived in the city." Nate said, "Back then, there were many peacemakers, and they were all on the same side, instead of split like they are now."

"Yeah, the peacemakers would keep Spira from tearing itself apart, and that's why they had to be immortal." Max said, "People knew who they were by the white cloth with black designs that they all wore, in some form or another."

"So the peacemakers have been here like the beginning of Spira?" Yuna asked, and the boys nodded. "Yep, they were the first effective warriors of Spira." Max said, "Every move in the Tyhla uv Taydr technique is meant to be fatal."

"wow you guys know a lot about Spira!" Yuna exclaimed. "More then the philosophers that's for sure!"

"It's part of our training, we gotta learn the past before we begin training." Nate said, "The learning was kinda fun, but the training defiantly isn't.."

'It isn't fun, but we have to do it." Max said.


	20. Chapter 20

-1

Yuna nodded. "Yeah, training isn't fun." she said, "but usually it all comes out alright."

"I hope you're right.." Nate said, and a moment later Casimir and I came walking out.

"Come on boys, let's go." Casimir said, heading for the exit. The three stepped out of the airship and I looked to the water.

"Hey look, there's a ship." I said, pointing. The two boys looked out to the water and their eyes widened in shock.

"Serapis.." Max whispered, before they both took off in a dead run for the water.

Yuna hurried by me, trying to see what they had seen. "who?" she asked me, hoping I may know.

I shrugged. "No clue." I said.

As they were running, the boys clapped their hands together and a lance appeared in each of their hands. Max's was black, and Nate's white. They stopped before the ship, lances ready to strike the first person to make them angry.

First, ten soldiers hurried off the ship with guns drawn, who were followed by a man dressed in a lavish uniform.

He stepped forward to face the boys. "What is it you want?" He asked.

"Tell us where she is." Max growled, "Now!"

The man shook his head and chuckled. 'I'd rather not tell." He said, before snapping his fingers. The guards stepped in front of him again and aimed towards the boys.

As the shots rang out, Nate jumped into the air and formed his hands into an odd hand sign. He then blew through and flames shot from his hands and onto the guards.

Those who weren't incinerated, Max took care of. He swung his lance quickly, so it was hardly seen, and cut through the remaining men.

I looked to Casimir, who shrugged. "I didn't teach Nathaniel the flame thing." He said.

The man fell back quickly, fear evident on his face. Nate landed next to his brother, and they both pressed their lances to the man's chest.

"We'll ask again, where is she!" Nate growled, and the man furiously shook his head. "I don't know, and that's the truth!"

They jammed their lances into his chest, and the man began to whimper. "Alright, alright!" He said, "I sold her! I sold her.."

Nate was the first to pull back his lance, and Max soon followed suit. "I swear to god that if she's hurt when we find her, I'll gut you like a fish." Nate growled.

"We should tell them." Yuna said, tugging on my arm a bit "they need to ask who she was sold too…"

I nodded. "alright." I said, "Let's go."

The man quickly scurried up and onto the deck of the boat, and the boys watched him go angrily. "We're going to kill him, no matter what. Right?" Max asked, and Nate nodded. "No matter what."

We finally got to them and Yuna gasped out "Ask him who he sold her too and where. It wont help you any without any information."

"we don't need to ask." Max said, "There's only four people with enough money to buy a slave, and I have an idea of who it is."

"who is it you are looking for?" Yuna asked. The boys looked to each other and then to the ground.

"we'd rather not say." Nate said.

Yuna nodded. "That's fine...is there anyway we can help?"

Max nodded. "Can you take us to Bevelle?" He asked.

"We are not at best odds with them, but we will take you..."Yuna said. "Thanks." Nate said, before getting back onto the airship with the others.

"Where'd you learn that flame thing?" I asked Nate, who shrugged.

"Old trick." He replied.

"It was amazing!" Yuna said.

She then looked over her shoulder at the airship and noted Rikku and Paine motioning for her.

"I think brother is ready to go, if you guys are."

They nodded. "Yeah, let's go." They said.

We arrived at Bevelle quickly, Brother let us off and we started down the long walk towards the large building.

Yuna kept her head down as some people glared after us...stupid people...Paine and Rikku walked beside her, Rikku quiet as she had been for awhile, Paine glaring back at the people.

The boys kept their eyes ahead of them, ignoring the people. Seig would glare every so often, and Casimir was indifferent.

Max and Nate led them around the temple and down a flight of stairs, where there were some rather large houses. They walked to the largest of them, knocked, and waited for an answer.

It took a little while, but finally it opened. A girl, who looked about 13 or 14, was standing in the doorway. She looked a bit nervous, and had a pretty nasty bruise on her cheek.

When she finally looked up from the ground, her eyes widened in shock. "What are you doing here!" She said, "You cant be here! He'll kill you!"

"We can handle ourselves." Max said, "Now come on, we're taking you away from here."

The girl shook her head furiously. "No! I'm not going to put you two in danger.."

"You're the one who's in danger! Ryusa's crazy!" Nate said.

Her eyes fell to the ground again. "I know, but I cant just leave.." She said, "Mom'll get hurt, and you'll be hunted. I cant let that happen, I have to stay.."

"Tamar, who's at the door?" A voice called from around the corner, and the girl flinched slightly.

When the man stepped around the corner, I was shocked to see who it was.

Baralai.


	21. Chapter 21

-1Tamar stepped back to allow Baralai to face the boys. "Give us back our sister." Nate growled.

"Why should I?" Baralai asked, "She's rightfully mine."

"Buying someone isn't legal." Max said, "Now give her back."

"I didn't buy her." Baralai said, "Her father gave her to me as a peace offering, her mother too."

Yuna shook my head "Still you own and treat her like a slave, its still wrong!"\

"And you hurt her!" Rikku exclaimed. "Give her back." Paine said drawing her sword.

"I'm not the one that hurts her." Baralai said, "That's her father."

"But you don't do anything to stop him." Max said, "So you're just as bad."

"Am I?" Baralai asked, "I'm not the one that killed my own son."

"She doesn't belong here." Yuna said "She belongs with her brothers, now give her to us."

"You'll have to beat both ryusa and I." Baralai said, before clapping his hands twice.

Ryusa walked out of one of the rooms, and he was easily recognized as the man from the ship.

He groaned. "You again?" He said, "I thought you'd give up for a while, like before.."

"When we last saw you, you were running off like a scared chocobo." Rikku said.

"It's an act." Ryusa said, "Do you really think the general of the Bevelle army would run from a couple of kids, especially my sons?"

"We aren't your sons." Max growled, "We don't know who our father is, but it defiantly isn't you."

"Why are we still talking?" Paine asked angrily. "If we're going to fight lets finish it."

Ryusa pulled a gun from his jacket and aimed it at Paine. He was about to pull the trigger, when a white lance slashed through the barrel.

"I don't think so." Nate growled, "You're fighting us and us alone."

Ryusa snorted. "Fine." He said, before pulling his other gun from his jacket. He fired a couple times at the twins, who easily avoided the bullets.

During their talking, Baralai had headed back into his house, and Tamar was now hiding behind her mother, but still watching the fight.

Casimir kept staring at Tamar's mother, he honestly couldn't help it. I felt like laughing at him, but now wasn't the time.

Both the boys tried to strike the gun at the same time, but it had some sort of super hard metal casing, so it couldn't be sliced.

The entire time, Ryusa was smirking, looking like he was really enjoying this.

After a while of fighting, Ryusa began to grow tired of the pointless combat. He knocked back both the boys, aimed into the doorway, and fired.

The bullet buried into Tamar's mother's chest, and she fell back into the young girl, who was soon in tears. Nate and Max were in a state of disbelief, and Casimir was now gripping his still clothed scythe tightly, his eyes narrowed into a death glare.

As the two boys managed to make themselves stand, Casimir ripped the cloth off his scythe. "Watch closely boys, this is the secret!" He said, his voice full of anger.

He charged towards Ryusa and then struck quickly with his scythe. The move was actually nine strikes, but they were all at the exact same time. They all hit one of the nine pressure points on the body, making Ryusa fall back.

"I made sure you wouldn't die right away, you deserve to suffer." Casimir growled, before dropping his scythe and running into the building to see if he could help at all.

Yuna looked to me. "Should we go help?" She asked, and I shook my head.

"Let Casimir handle it." I said.

Casimir fell to his knees next to the woman. "Go by your brothers, make sure they're alright." He told Tamar, who gave a hesitant nod before hurrying out of the building.

He then pulled the woman up and close to him, and he could see that she was smiling. He didn't know why, but as long as something was making her happy.

"I didn't get to tell you before.." She whispered quietly, "But I do love you.."

Casimir clutched the back of her shirt tightly, fighting back tears. It wasn't like him to cry, but it didn't really matter now.

"I'm sorry.." He replied, and she chuckled softly, before closing her eyes.

Casimir gritted his teeth together and held her limp frame tightly, trying to hold back the tears that were still slipping down his face. "I'm sorry..I'm sorry.." He kept repeating quietly.

Tamar was now hiding behind her brothers, who were both watching Casimir and their mother with blank expressions. Their minds weren't able to process all that was going on right now.

A minute later, Casimir came walking out of the building, drying off his face. His body was stained red, but he didn't seem to care as he angrily walked past everyone else.

"Casimir-" I started, but he cut me off. "I just need to be alone right now." He said, before continuing to walk.

Yuna walked over to me. "I hate to see people like this." She whispered.

I nodded. "Me too, but it cant be helped.." I said, "Let's just leave him alone for now.."


	22. Chapter 22

-1

Max walked up to me, as Nate was comforting a sobbing Tamar. "Where will we go?" he asked, "Casimir-sensei wont be back for a couple days.."

"You guys can stay with us.." I said, "It's not a problem."

"Thanks." Max said quietly, before giving me a small smile and heading back over by his siblings.

"So we will be staying in Bevelle for a while?" Yuna asked, and I shook my head. "No, lets go back to Besaid." I said, "It's calmer, less stressful there."

Yuna gave me a small smile and a nod. "I think it's best for everyone." She said.

"Shall we go?" I asked, "No use in staying here.."

Yuna went and got everyone, and we loaded onto the airship. It didn't take long to reach besaid. Upon landing, we were greeted by Wakka and Lulu, who said that everyone was settled again

"Yeah we set up our tents again." Wakka said, "Everyone was pretty proud of ya Seig." He then gave me a slap on the back, and I couldn't help but grin.

"Are you guys hungry?" Lulu asked.

"I'm starving." I said, before turning to the kids, "What about you guys?"

"Ravenous." The boys said, and Tamar merely nodded, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground.

/Poor girl../ I thought/She must be scared to death../

Nate and Max immediately began loading their plates, but Tamar only took a few things. "You can take more." Nate said, "It's alright."

She softly shook her head. "This is all I want for now." She said quietly. Nate gave a nod, and I started to take some things for myself.

"So, who's the eldest?" Yuna asked Tamar, and she pointed to Max.

"He's only the oldest by a few minutes.." She said quietly.

"are you the youngest or the middle child?" Yuna asked.

"Youngest." tamar said, finally looking up to Yuna, "Maximus is the oldest, then Thaddeus, then Nathaniel, then me."

"Oh, there's another?" Yuna asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, but he died.." She said quietly. The brothers weren't even looking sad at all..they seemed rather happy. They had a pretty good facade..

"I'm sorry." yuna said quietly, and Tamar smiled slightly.

"It's alright, it's all in the past.." She said.

She shook her head. "No, it's alright." She said, "Normally they're worse than this.."

"Well, you're not going to get them ever again." Nate said. "Yes I will." Tamar said, "Because I'm going to continue my studies soon.."

"Are you sure?" Max asked, "These are dangerous times."

"They were before too." She said, "Besides, I know I can do it.."

"How to fight with a hiraikotsu." Tamar said, "it's like a giant boomerang, but deadlier."

"Last time we saw her, she was pretty good." Nate said, "I think she'll do fine."

"well, I wish you the best of luck." Yuna said. "Thanks." Tamar said.

I was eating when I suddenly sensed an enormous power source and flinched. I turned my head to the opening of the tent, trying to see if anything was wrong outside.

Nothing seemed to be, so I just blew it off and continued with my meal.

Max raised an eyebrow. "You alright?" He asked me, and I shrugged. "Just thought I felt a familiar presence, it's gone now." I said.

"are you sure everything is alright?" Yuna asked, and I nodded. "I'm sure." I said, "The person who I thought it was would never come here anyway.."


	23. Chapter 23

-1

The day went on rather normally, until night. The boys both decided to sleep on the beach, under the stars. Tamar was scared of sleeping outside, so I let her have my bed on the airship.

I sat on the edge of the cliff, staring out at the water. Everything was so beautiful at night, no wonder they wanted to sleep outside.

Soon, a lunar eclipse began to happen, and everything was soon pitch black. I thought I heard someone running in the woods, so I quickly turned to look. I saw nothing, and figured it was just my imagination.

I could faintly see the boys stand up from their spots on the beach and look around. "Maybe it wasn't just my mind.." I said quietly, and then heard someone breathing behind me.

"You're right, it wasn't." The deep, husky voice said, and I froze. This was another man who just sent chills up my spine, and he knew it, which made it even worse.

"W-what do you w-want..sensei?" I asked quietly, not turning.

"I'm here to show you what happens to traitors." He growled, before throwing his large axe towards the airship. It tore one of the front corners of the ship clear off, and sent a jolt through the entire thing.

The axe circled around and I ducked to avoid it, the man behind me catching it with ease. "Better hope no one was in that corner." He said, grinning slightly.

I then heard Yuna's scream and jumped down the cliff, well aware my teacher was following me. "Poor girl." He said, and I turned suddenly and sent a fist into his face, my eyes full of anger.

The blow didn't even seem to faze him, and he easily knocked me away. I had forgotten how big he was, over 7 feet tall with huge shoulders, but that was from the springs he had implanted in his shoulders so the force that was sent back on you when you struck him was tripled.

None of this mattered. He had hurt someone, and I was going to make sure it didn't happen again. My sword appeared in my hand and I swung it at my master. He moved his axe quickly to block it, and I could feel the strain on my arms from the force caused by the springs.

I tried to hit him, but I couldn't land a single blow. I could tell he was growing bored, and maybe that was a good sign. "I'm sick of this." He said, "We shall meet again soon, and you better be ready." He then disappeared.

Instantly, I turned and ran for the airship, leaping inside and hurrying back to the cabin. "Yuna!" I called as I ran, to see if she was hurt at all.

"I'm down here!" Yuna called, from the piece of the airship that had broken off, "I cant find Rikku!" I jumped down and ran to help her dig.

"Don't worry." I said, "We'll find her."

I could hear Yuna whispering to herself that Rikku had to be okay, and I wanted to believe it, but when his master wanted someone dead, they ended up dead.

When I saw the spirits began to float around in the air, I knew that it was hopeless. I heard Yuna's soft sob and I wrapped my arms around her tightly. "I'm sorry.." I whispered.

Yuna buried her face against me and sobbed into my chest. "No..." She moaned, "No…Rikku…not my cousin..." She gripped the back of my shirt and I could feel her body quivering.

"Come on, sit down.." I said softly, pulling her down as I sat myself, never letting go Yuna. This was all my fault, all I ever brought was pain. Why did I have to be so stupid!

After a bit, she calmed down, but she didn't let go of me. "Thank you.." She said, her voice muffled since her face was still against my chest.

"Don't thank me.." I said quietly, "I don't deserve it.."

Yuna pulled away to look at me. "yes you do." She whispered, "you're always there for me." She then planted a small kiss on my lips, and I turned slightly red. I couldn't help it. She stood and I heard a voice from above. "Yuna?" "Paine?" Yuna called up. "what's going on?" Paine asked. "Come down and I'll explain…" She said quietly.

Paine was suddenly there and Yuna looked to the ground, her smile gone. "what's going on?" Paine demanded. "Rikku…" She whispered. 'where is she?" Paine said a little harsher. "She's dead…" Yuna whispered, pointing at the pile. Paine paled and slowly walked over to the pile, she stood there rigged for awhile.

I was silent, staring at the ground. This was all my fault, Rikku was dead, and both Paine and Yuna were hurting, and it was my fault.

Right now, there was nothing I wanted more than to die..


	24. Chapter 24

-1

Yuna turned back to me and took comfort in my arms again, and I just began to space off with a blank expression. I was beginning to go back to the way I was without Yuna, when I actually needed those pills. I wasn't thinking straight, I wasn't thinking about getting some more of those to help me through.

I should've been.

After Yuna sent Rikku and said good night, I headed out onto the beach. Nate, Max, and Tamar were all huddled together, watching me walk towards them. "Is everything okay?" Nate asked.

I shook my head. "Rikku's dead.." I said quietly, "I'll be in the village." I then headed up the path and sat back down in my spot on the cliff.

I stayed there the entire night, not moving a muscle. Even once the people of the village began to wake, I didn't move. Not like I was good for anything anyway. Only thing I ever managed to do was kill the people closest to me.

/I don't deserve to live../ I thought, staring at the water with glazed eyes.

I saw Yuna out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't move to talk to her. Instead, after she was done telling Wakka, I stood and headed for the airship.

Without talking to anyone, I walked to the bathroom and locked myself in, before rummaging through the medicine cabinet for something strong.

Finally, I found what I was looking for. A bottle of vicodin. I shook five of the pills into my hand and swallowed them dry. They tasted horrible, but I didn't care. This had to be done.

Soon, I began to feel the pills begin to work. I was lightheaded and dizzy, so I had to sit with my back against the wall. It only took another few minutes before it felt like my insides were on fire, and soon I was foaming at the mouth.

I heard Yuna knock and ask if I was in there, but I didn't answer. Not that I could at this point, anyway. Softly, I shut my eyes.

/It's better this way..for everyone../ I thought.

Yuna began to yell louder, and I tried to block it out. It was beginning to make me feel bad, almost regret what I had done.

I hadn't regretted it last time, why now?

I heard a loud thud as Yuna body slammed the door and broke it down, but I didn't open my eyes. Not even when she spoke did I look to her. I didn't deserve to see her.

Yuna crawled close and shook me a bit. "Seig...please if your still alive, look at me...say something..." I heard her say faintly, "Anything Seig…please..."

I said nothing, but smiled the best I could. It wasn't that it was a fake smile, just everything that was happening to my body was really keeping me from doing a lot of things. One of them, unfortunately, was becoming breathing.

She buried her face against me and started to sob. "Why Seig?" she asked, her voice slightly muffled. She should know why, I killed her cousin. I killed Rikku, and she would be the next to end up dead if I didn't do something about it. I loved her too much to let anything happen to her.

"I love you..." Yuna whispered. Even though I could barely hear her, those words hit me like a steamroller. "For awhile now..." She continued, "and just...so much..."

She loved me? Why hadn't she said before? I always thought that our relationship was one sided, that I was merely her friend…and now..now I did this to myself.

How could I be so stupid! I had already done this once, because of my depression. How many times was it going to take till I learned? Now, unlike before, I knew I had done wrong, and that I needed help. Not that I could tell anyone..

Yuna gently pulled away cleaned the foam from my mouth, before kissing me softly. "I'm going to help you Seig." She said, sounding determined. I felt her stand. "I'll be right back." She hurried from the room and it was eerily silent.

I didn't like it anymore, not one bit.


	25. Chapter 25

-1

Soon, Yuna returned with Paine and they both lifted me and took me to the infirmary. "Just hang on Seig." She whispered, brushing some hair out of my face.

I was trying to hang on as hard as I could, but it was growing more difficult. All my organs were on fire, and if I could, I would've been screaming.

As Paine was working on me, I could feel myself slipping in and out of consciousness, and soon I was completely out. I didn't know if this was a bad sign or a good one, I was just hoping that I would live..

I began to dream, and it was very odd, to me anyway.

I was standing in front of a full body mirror, dressed in a crimson squad uniform. I was older, probably around 25 or so, and I had a deep scar across the bridge of my nose. In my hand was a rifle with a bayonet attached to the muzzle. The weapon looked as if it had seen many battles.

/Where am I/ I wondered, turning around and walking down the hall. Soon, I found myself standing in front of a bunch of Yevon soldiers, who all looked to me and stood at attention when I entered.

/Am I an officer/

One soldier ran up to me, looking quite flustered. "Sir, the enemy has broken down the gate!" He said quickly, and for some reason, I knew what to do.

"Get down there now, all of you!" I ordered, and the soldiers all hurried out of the room, with me running after them.

Once outside, I saw who the intruders were. They were peacemakers, I could tell from the cloth they were wearing, but there were so many. There were never that many before..

My men lined up and aimed, along with me, ready to fire at my command. "Ready, fire!" I yelled, and the crack of guns rang through the air.

A few of the peacemakers fell, but soon got back up again. Damn immortality. As the first few reached the ranks and began cutting down the soldiers, my vitals spiked.

I lasted longer than most, but I felt my blood run cold and I froze when I saw the man I both loved and feared.

Cairbre, my teacher.

Even as he lifted his great axe, I couldn't move. There was nothing telling me to run, or scream, my fear held me back.

The blade dug deep into my chest and threw me back, and I didn't move from the ground. Maybe that was the injury I got because that's the pain I was feeling in reality, I don't know. I just know that it hurt.

After that, all went black.

The doctor that came rushing out to get me from Yuna and the others rolled his eyes slightly. "Damn, he's back?" He said, running up to them, "Hoped this wouldn't happen.."

He grabbed one of the railings on the bed and started to pull me towards the rooms. "Stay in the waiting room, a nurse will be out soon to ask you some questions." He said, before rushing into the back.

No nurse came, they must've all been working on me, I didn't know. Soon, the doctor walked back out into the waiting room and up to the small group.

"We've gotten him stabilized, for now." He said, "There's no telling what'll happen later, but right now, things look good for him."

Yuna nodded slightly and asked, "When will I be able to see him?"

"Now, if you like." the doctor said, "follow me." He motioned to her, and then headed for the exit.

The doctor led Yuna to my room and allowed her to enter, before shutting the door to give us privacy. I was still asleep at the moment, with random tubes running from my arms to separate machines, that were helping to keep me alive.

Yuna pulled a chair up next to the bed and took one of my hands in hers, softly pressing it to her cheek. A few tears slid from her eyes, and she whispered, "oh Seig..why..?"

Of course, she received no answer, and she might never get one, even once I woke. I knew why I had done it, but I would never tell anyone.

Not even Yuna..

Yuna brushed some of the hair out of my face and kissed my forehead, before placing her cheek against it.

She closed her eyes, a few more tears running down her face.

"I love you." she whispered, beginning to choke up, "I meant it when I said it, and it hurts me to see you like this."

"Sometimes I wonder why you do the things you do, but I've come to not question what people do…" she continued, "But this is different, death isn't something to play around with, Seig."

"And I wish you wouldn't…"

Again, there was only silence, until I began to stir. I gave a soft cough, and could feel the warmth of Yuna's cheek against my face.

It all came rushing back, and I tried to speak, but all that came out was a quiet moan. I ached all over, like I had been hit with a car, but that didn't matter.

I was alive!


	26. Chapter 26

-1

"Seig!" Yuna gasped, sitting up. I gave her a small smile, but didn't try to speak again. I also gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, to show I was alright for now.

Yuna kissed my hand and then kissed my cheek, before stroking it softly. "You scared me..." she whispered, "...I-I thought I was going to lose you too..."

I wanted so badly to tell her how sorry I was, to tell her that I had been a total idiot, and to tell her sorry again because he would be saying it over and over for a while.

But more than anything else, I wanted to tell her that I loved her. She had finally told me what she felt, and I should return it. Even if she hadn't told me how she felt, I would've told her as soon as I could..

She continued to stroke my face gently as she spoke.

"When you get out of here, I'm going to be with you every second. I'm sorry if you don't like it, seig, but I'm going to have to watch you for awhile..." She said quietly, "I can't let this happen again."

I gave a small nod and another smile to show that I understood, and that I would like it if she were with me all the time. Though, I wasn't going to try that again.

/That's what I said last time../ I thought, before quickly ridding myself of those thoughts. I needed to be thinking positive now.

"get better, alright?" Yuna said quietly, "I don't like hospitals much." She was then silent, still stroking my face.

I gave a small nod, before softly closing my eyes. I wasn't asleep, just resting, which I needed now.

Meanwhile, a teenage boy came stumbling into the E.R., blood trailing after him. After taking a few steps into the building, he collapsed, blood pouring from a wound on his back. Nurses rushed out to help him, like they did with the other patients.

He was dressed strangely, but the oddest part was the white cloak with black designs that was fastened around his neck.

It took three doctors to lift him up onto a gurney, despite his size. He was rather short, but from his face he seemed to be almost an adult. They hurried him into the back, and when I heard the rolling of the bed, I opened my eyes to look through the window.

/He doesn't look too good../ I thought, watching them run past.

"I wonder what happened to him.." Yuna said quietly, and I gave a slight shrug.

/No clue, but I'm more curious about where he got that cloak from../ I thought, before closing my eyes again. I didn't mean to fall asleep, but within a few minutes, I did. I hadn't realized how tired I was, and I didn't wake for five days.

When I softly opened my eyes, I found myself laying in the same room as before, but this time I was alone.

/They must've gone out../ I thought, moving to sit up. Surprisingly, it was rather easy.

Next, I tried to talk, and found that easy too. "Man, must've been asleep a long time.." I said quietly to myself, stepping out of bed and stretching.

A nurse stepped into the room and was shocked to see me standing, but still it only took her a minute to force me back into bed.

"You shouldn't be standing." She said, and I rolled my eyes. "Why not?" I asked.

"Because you've been asleep for five days." She replied. "That long? Doesn't that mean I'm better, now that I'm well rested?" I asked, and she shook her head.

A moment later, Yuna walked in, and the nurse quickly set down the tray of food and walked out of the room, to give us privacy.

Yuna smiled largely at me as she hurried over to the bed, taking one of my hands in both of hers.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, as I smiled back at her. "Fine, actually." I said, "We just gotta find a way to get me out of here..cause the doctors wont believe me.."

She pulled up a chair and sat, her smile never leaving. "Well Seig, they do know best..." She said, and I could hear a hint of sadness in her voice, "You were asleep for awhile, and yet nothing really has happened..."

"Glad I didn't miss anything.." I said, before reaching out my other hand and gently cupping her cheek with it. Slowly, I leaned towards her, and softly pressed my lips to hers.

I had been longing to do this for years now, and now that I finally could, it felt wonderful. Everything I went through was worth it, just for this moment.

I felt Yuna slid her hand around the back of my neck, and then deepen the kiss. After a good minute or so, I pulled back ever so slightly, so I could whisper to her.

"I love you, Yuna.."


	27. Chapter 27

-1

A few tears fell down her cheek and she gave a slight sob. I would've been crying too, but I think I might've forgotten how.

"I love you Seig..." She whispered, before kissing me lightly, then pulling away to whisper again, "So much..."

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close, softly pressing my cheek against hers. "And I'm sorry.." I whispered into her ear.

Yuna wrapped her arms tighter around me. "Your alive...I-its all that matters..." She whispered back.

I then fell silent, merely continuing my embrace. I didn't need to say anything else, this was enough for now.

Suddenly, the door flung open, and Paine stormed in. My cheeks turned red, and I avoided eye contact with Paine.

It didn't take a genius to know she was furious.

"Yuna." she said, trying to keep from yelling.

"Leave the room." she demanded, and it was apparent Yuna wasn't going to argue.

She looked over at me and smiled slightly, before hurrying out of the room

Paine watched her go, before looking back at me. "I want you to stay away from her." she said slowly.

I crossed my arms, finally looking up to Paine. "I didn't do anything wrong." I said, my face back to it's normal color now.

Paine shook her head. "She's falling in love with you." she said, "I can't let it happen again."

"I'm not going to leave her like Tidus did, you don't have to worry." I said.

Paine shook her head. "we never know that. You could die Seig and it will end up hurting her. The people need her and if you go she goes, Rikku was the only one who could pull her out of it when Tidus left but she's gone too...the sooner the better. Do you want to end up completely destroying her?"

"Do you?" I asked, "If you force me to go now, it'll hurt her as well, and I know you don't want to do that."

"its still new to her, better now than later when she's completely depending on you." Paine said.

"I'm not leaving, Paine." I said calmly, "Nothing you do will keep me from her."

Paine shook her head again. "you just don't understand do you Seig? Your just too selfish, you would put her heart on the line just for your desires...sickening."

"Don't you dare call me selfish!" I growled, getting out of bed, "You can call me what you like, just don't call me selfish!" I then took a deep breath to calm myself down, before speaking again. "Fine, if you want me to leave that badly, then I'll go."

I pushed past Paine and walked out of the room, not even bothering to check myself out before exiting the hospital.

Yuna spotted me and hurried after me, when she caught up she took my hand and pulled me to a stop.

She stood in front of me, trying to catch my gaze. "Are you alright?" She whispered, and I shook my head.

"No.." I replied, "Paine wants me to leave, so just go back to Besaid and I'll come in a few days, after she cools off..alright?"

She stared at me, her skin paling slightly. "Don't leave me." She begged.

"Seig, I promised I wouldn't leave you alone anymore and I meant it...I wont go back on my promise." I said a bit more harshly then I meant it.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered, looking down at her feet, "I-I just don't want you to go..."

I gave her a hug and a soft kiss. "Don't worry, it's only for a few days.." I said, smiling, "It's not like I'm leaving forever.."

She hugged me back, trailing a finger over my lips, some tears sliding down her face. "its going to feel like forever since I don't know when you will be coming back...please seig who cares what she says..."

"I just don't feel like arguing with her, I'm sorry…" I whispered, "What if I promise you I'll be back in two days?"

Yuna gave a soft nod. "I-if your sure..." she whispered. I nodded. "I'm positive." I said, "And I promise I'll come to Besaid in two days, now go.." I pulled my arms back, smiling softly at her.

Yuna didn't pull away at first, she planted a small kiss on my lips.

She then pulled her arms away, and tried her best to smile back. "Alright...I'll miss you." she whispered "Please stay out of trouble..."

"I will, you too.." I said, "Bye.." I turned and slowly walked away. After a few feet, I stopped and turned, giving Yuna a small wave, before continuing.


	28. Chapter 28

Yuna and the others returned to Besaid, to be warmly welcomed home by the villagers. A few hours after the Gullwings returned, another person walked into the village. It was the boy from the hospital, but he seemed fine now.

Slowly, he walked into the village, his eyes fixed on the ground, like he was thinking very hard about something.

It only took him a moment to notice that someone was staring at him, and when he looked up he saw it was Yuna. He merely gave her a small smile, before continuing on towards the temple. That smile seemed so familiar, yet it was hard to place.

He could hear footsteps behind him, so he stopped and turned, finding himself facing Yuna. "Yes?" he asked, his voice so calm it was almost eerie.

Yuna stared at him for a moment, before asking, "Who are you?"

He smiled again. "Gabriel." He said, "Gabriel Highwind."

Yuna started at him a bit. "Highwind..." she whispered slowly.

"How are you related..." She said, her voice trailing off.

"It's a long story." Gabriel said, before his smile suddenly faded away and he looked to the forest, his eyes scanning everything.

"Get behind me.." he said slowly, not taking his eyes off the trees.

Yuna hesitated, but finally went behind him.

"what's going on?" she whispered.

"Genesis followed me again.." He said, his hands moving to his neck to unfasten his cloak, which he took off and handed to Yuna.

"Can you hold that for me?" He asked, "Thanks.."

She took it, clearly confused. "Genesis?" she asked quietly.

"An officer in the Bevellian army." Gabriel said, "We've hated each other for a good eleven or twelve years now.."

"Oh.." Yuna said quietly, before falling silent.

He pulled some straps on his fighting gloves to make sure they were on tight, before stepping forward. Suddenly, a tall boy appeared a few feet from him, with a smirk that showed he was up to no good.

"Hello Gabriel." The boy said, and Gabriel glared. "Hello Genesis." He replied, and Genesis chuckled. "So bitter." He said, "Suppose I better give you a reason to be, eh?" He snapped his fingers, and a good thirty men appeared out of the forest.

Genesis turned his head slightly to talk to his men. "Kill them all and then burn the village." He said, keeping his smirk. Gabriel clenched his hands into fists. "You will not touch these people." He growled, "I'll make sure of it."

"Ready arms!" Genesis called, and the men aimed their rifles. Gabriel ran towards Genesis, sending a fist into his face and sending him back into some of his men. You could see the fear in their eyes, they knew they shouldn't be messing with this kid.

Gabriel then grabbed one of the men by the head and threw his as hard as he could into a group of the other soldiers.

Now, it was chaos. Most the soldiers hurried into the woods, and the ones that stayed, Gabriel took good care of them.

Once all the men were either dead or had run away, Gabriel walked to Genesis, who was backed up against a tree.

"Your parents deserved to die!" Genesis said, "They were traitors to their country, and so are you!"

"Shut up." Gabriel growled, before sending a series of punches at Genesis, all of which connected.

Still, the boy was cocky. "Your precious girlfriend put up a good fight too, even after my men eliminated all your friends." He said, "I made sure to kill her slowly, so she knew what death felt like."

"JUST SHUT UP!" Gabriel yelled, grabbing Genesis by the neck and swinging him around, before throwing him at the temple, taking a good chunk out of the roof.

Gabriel let out a breath and calmed himself down. "I've been training since I was five, what did you expect?" he said, as Genesis came stumbling out of the temple. There was blood pouring from various wounds all over his body, and he looked exhausted.

"Master.." he said, his voice barely audible, "please..father..help me.." He then collapsed.

But it wasn't over yet.

Suddenly, a man appeared next to genesis. He was older, but it was undoubtedly Baralai. He looked to Gabriel, who gave a slight nod. "Take him and go, before I change my mind." He said.

Baralai slung Genesis over his shoulder and stood to face Gabriel. He smiled slightly as he looked him over. "I don't know if you realize it, but you're a lot like your father…" Baralai said, "except for your eyes."

"Leave." Gabriel growled, and Baralai nodded, before disappearing.

Gabriel let out a sigh. "Well, Besaid's safe for now.." He said, giving Yuna a small smile and taking his cloak from her. It was easy to tell from his eyes that it was becoming hard to keep from crying, but boys don't cry, right?

"thank you." Yuna said quietly, before taking a step towards him and hugging him.

He didn't move to hug her back at first, but eventually did. He buried his face into her shoulder, like he was going to cry, but he didn't let himself.

"its alright." She whispered "to cry..."

Gabriel shook his head. "I promised I wouldn't.." He said, his voice slightly muffled by Yuna's shoulder.

"You can't just hold it all in." She whispered, before asking, "Who did you promise?"

"my mother.." He whispered, "I'm not going to break my promise, not now…"

She was silent a bit, before shaking her head slightly.

"And why is it she didn't want you to cry?" she asked finally.

"Because she wanted me to be strong.." He replied.

She sighed and shook her head. "I don't think it is, I think what makes you strong is when you are able to show what you are feeling," she said, "It takes a lot of beating on your pride to show what your really feeling, but if your able to take it then it is truly strength."

She pulled away and set her hands on his shoulders. "But she is your mother, so you should obey her..."

Gabriel gave a nod. "I will.." he said, "Thank you.."

She smiled softly at him. "No, I should be the one thanking you, your the one who saved my home."

She let her hands fall to her side, her smile got a bit bigger. "So thank you."

"You're welcome.." Gabriel said.

* * *

_This is where my friend and I stopped doing this. We both got busy with school and such. If I can get ahold of it, I might put up Yuna's POV of the same story, or she might, I dunno. I'll be sure to tell you if I do._  



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